“After the acquisition of WhatsApp by Facebook two years ago, both parties have publicly assured that data will not be shared between them.”

There are over 35 million WhatsApp users in Germany and Facebook did not take permission from its users whether they have objection on sharing their data or not.

“This administrative order protects the data of about 35 million WhatsApp users in Germany. It has to be their decision, whether they want to connect their account with Facebook. Therefore, Facebook has to ask for their permission in advance. This has not happened, added Caspar.”

In 2014, Facebook bought WhatsApp, leaving users in shock and uncertainty about the privacy of their chats based on thehistory of the social media giantand its data sharing habits. In reply, the co-founder of WhatsApp wrote a brief blog post assuring that the company will never go for users’ personal data.

Facebook is not new to such privacy and data sharing related issues in Europe. In fact, in 2015 a Belgian court orderedFacebook to stop tracking internet users or pay a 250,000 euros per day. Before the court order, Belgium’s Privacy Commission (BPC) said that Facebook is following NSA footsteps to spy on users.

“When it became known that the NSA was spying on people all around the world, everybody was upset. This actor [Facebook] is doing the very same thing, albeit in a different way.”

HACKREAD is a News Platform that centers on InfoSec, Cyber Crime, Privacy, Surveillance and Hacking News with full-scale reviews on Social Media Platforms & Technology trends. Founded in 2011, HackRead is based in Milan, Italy.